Night guard / splint.. teeth hurting in the morning, is it normal?

[Enarete]

Hi there,

I had a dental appointment two days ago, the suspicion was that my 17 had a crack caused by grinding which has been confirmed. I wasn't in a state of being able to cope with any work at that day and my dentist said that we had a bit of time with treating the tooth so I got a splint for the night to make sure I wouldn't grind things worse in the mean time. I am going in in three months to get the tooth filled.

1. When I put the splint in in the evening, the 17 hurts when I bite down. Should I be alerted by this / will it make the crack worse? When I wake up it doesn't hurt anymore..

2. Today (my second night with the splint) my teeth were very sensitive after I got it off, upper right incisor was really sore and some other teeth felt weird too. This subsided after half an hour or so.

3. My teeth feel like my bite doesn't fit properly after I get off the splint in the morning.. is this normal?

This is my first splint ever and it's a bit new and weird and scary..

 

[Gordon]

What kind of splint is it? NTI/TSS, soft splint, hard splint?

 

[Judythecat]

I got a new splint yesterday, this time a hard one which goes on my lower teeth, after having a soft upper one for over a year. With the old one I had to build up to it incrementally, wearing it round the house, watching TV, and not in bed, initially actually setting a timer for ten minutes, then 20, etc. About five days in it just “clicked”. I am struggling with the new one and having to do the same thing, which is annoying, but it feels much tighter and harder to fit/remove than the upper one. So no advice, but a bit of a new splint fist bump.

 

[Enarete]

What kind of splint is it? NTI/TSS, soft splint, hard splint?

I have no idea what kind it is.. my dentist told me it was a soft one and it is very soft, if that helps to answer the question.

The incisor that hurts is the one that doesn't stand too straight with the other teeth, so I was wondering if it hurts because it is a bit out of line and gets a bit more of pressure. Today morning I just took the guard off and didn't bite down or touch my teeth so that they can 'calm down'. After short time I tried to bite down carefully and it felt fine.

 

[Gordon]

Soft splint then

To begin with there may be some discomfort as you describe, but it should go away gradually. If the sensitivity continues then put a small smear of sensitive tooth toothpaste into the splint near the affected areas.

The feeling of your bite being "wrong" after wearing the splint overnight is pretty common. It usually means that your muscles have relaxed and stopped accommodating for any slight errors in your bite.

 

[Enarete]

Thank you so much, Gordon, you have put me at ease a lot.

I'll get some Sensodyne on Monday.

Your explanation about the "wrong bite" is fantastic - I can get up in the morning from now on and celebrate the sensation in the knowledge that it's a good thing as it means my muscles have relaxed...

Thanks again

 

[Gordon]

Don't know if you can get hold of it, but I think the Colgate sensitive stuff is better than Sensodyne, not a lot in it though.

Just a word of warning, if you've got a dog, they seem to love chewing soft splints! I've lost count of the number that have been swiped off bedside tables and chewed to bits by Fido

 

[Enarete]

Thank you for the advice, I'll try to get Colgate Sensitive then. I was in one drug store today and they didn't have it, I'll visit a different one tomorrow or order it on the internet.

Also thank you for the advice about dogs loving soft splints!

Even more encouraging is knowing that you also have a splint!!! I was, for a little while worried that just very uncool people do wear night splints, but knowing you also so have one... I can now wear mine proudly

 

[Gordon]

My dogs have never touched my splint, but thanks for thinking I'm cool anyway

My best "dog story" was a patient whose dog had stolen his bottom denture and buried it out in the garden someplace. He knew the denture was on his bedside cabinet, the dog came into his room to wake him up, and then he let it out into the garden... it had a habit of burying things and he never did find the dentures again...

 

[krlovesherkids777]

LOL aghhh..that is awful.. I can't imagine having my denture gone to find it is in the garden via my dog.. wow.. I'm sure he was not laughing too hard when it happened though

 

[jenny8484]

Could be the guard doesn't fit right. I wear an OTC guard for now and I find that some of my teeth are in pain from the guard pressing against them (and then i end up taking it out)

 

[Enarete]

A quick update: it's been two weeks since I started wearing the splint and there is no toothache anymore after removing it in the morning. I haven't even managed to get the sensitive toothpaste yet..

 

[Dg6300]

How is this going?

 

[Enarete]

All is well, I love my splint and have no issues whatsoever! have a pink toothbrush to brush the splint (itˋs pink because the case of the splint is pink too so I wanted it to match and these are probably the only two pink objects I have ever owned ) It makes me feel grateful for my dental journey and for the fact that I have a dentist (do normal people even realize what a blessing it is to have a kind familiar dentist?) and it has something symbolic for me. Which might be weird but we are all a bit weird and having dental anxiety feels weird anyway..

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Love this post!! and that you have such an amazing dentist and the splint is going so well!! and that we are all a bit weird anyways..